Ævangelist offered us a great surprise with their colossal debut back in 2012, combining blackend death metal, harrowing ghosty wails and industrial touches. Later on, they released a not so good EP, and an excellent split with Esoterica (To The Dream Plateau of Hideous Revelation) proving themselves as one of the most inconsistent bands around. Now, moving on to their second full length album and much has changed since their debut; clearly, they have adopted a more mechanical approach this time around.

Boring and forgettable. This one lacks the creepy ambiance of their debut and also those marvelous mechanical effects used in omniquity. Also, it is rather straight and does not have the layered properties that one could expect from these guys. Really hope that they stop churning out and focus more on songwriting. At the moment, this would not get more than 5.5 from me.
Damn, the only 2013 album that made made me disappointing up to now .

Boring and forgettable. This one lacks the creepy ambiance of their debut and also those marvelous mechanical effects used in omniquity. Also, it is rather straight and does not have the layered properties that one could expect from these guys. Really hope that they stop churning out and focus more on songwriting. At the moment, this would not get more than 5.5 from me.
Damn, the only 2013 album that made made me disappointing up to now .

I'm sorry you feel that way. For me, it was slightly disappointing but it's still damn good. I wouldn't necessarily go so far as to say that they are "churning out", but it's clear that they are invested in a different direction.

I would say that they have abandoned many of their strong suits, though.

I'm sorry you feel that way. For me, it was slightly disappointing but it's still damn good. I wouldn't necessarily go so far as to say that they are "churning out", but it's clear that they are invested in a different direction.

I would say that they have abandoned many of their strong suits, though.

Good to see you like it, I'm jealous of you. Going for a different direction is not necessarily a bad thing. Problem is that this album lacks the wow factor. Also, note that this band written 2 albums, 1 EP and contributed to one split this year. I know that this is not abnormal for some genres but this is not the case for style of this band.

This album really surprised me, though I didn't quite know what to expect before pressing play. For me the real problem here is how clouded everything sounds, but once you listen to the album a few times I guess you can get used to it. Musically it's pretty full on as far as the extreme metal part of the musicianship is concerned, and the background noises such as screeching violins, tinkling keyboards or orgasmic (?) female moans and wails add extra effect. I only wish the production could be a bit clearer to truly emphasize these little sounds.

This album really surprised me, though I didn't quite know what to expect before pressing play. For me the real problem here is how clouded everything sounds, but once you listen to the album a few times I guess you can get used to it. Musically it's pretty full on as far as the extreme metal part of the musicianship is concerned, and the background noises such as screeching violins, tinkling keyboards or orgasmic (?) female moans and wails add extra effect. I only wish the production could be a bit clearer to truly emphasize these little sounds.

I think you've hit the nail on the head here. The cloudy, homogeneous nature of the album is a make-it-or-break-it aspect, and is a large deterrent for fans of the debut. It took me a number of listens to really get into some of the aspects of the album, and it actually really grew on me.

The production is definitely not the clearest one of 2013, and it's hard not to sympathize with your point there. That being said, the more I thought about the record... I think it was their intention to absolutely challenge the listener, in addition to making them feel like they are in the abysses of Hell. I'm not trying to redeem the production (I'd go so far as to say it's objectively terrible), but I found it worked well with their motives to keep everything murky. I do think that this production, however, compromises their horrifying effects that they obviously put a painstaking amount of time into. It's a shame because I see both sides of what they were trying to do, but I think most listeners are going to find they accomplished both in a merely adequate fashion.

I think you've hit the nail on the head here. The cloudy, homogeneous nature of the album is a make-it-or-break-it aspect, and is a large deterrent for fans of the debut. It took me a number of listens to really get into some of the aspects of the album, and it actually really grew on me.

The production is definitely not the clearest one of 2013, and it's hard not to sympathize with your point there. That being said, the more I thought about the record... I think it was their intention to absolutely challenge the listener, in addition to making them feel like they are in the abysses of Hell. I'm not trying to redeem the production (I'd go so far as to say it's objectively terrible), but I found it worked well with their motives to keep everything murky. I do think that this production, however, compromises their horrifying effects that they obviously put a painstaking amount of time into. It's a shame because I see both sides of what they were trying to do, but I think most listeners are going to find they accomplished both in a merely adequate fashion.

I will save my opinions for a review I probably will write for this album but to say something about the subject at hand, I think the production is really terrible. The fact that it is not clear is not necessarily a bad thing and I unclear production is what I like about some of my favs. Problem is that this type of production nullifies their subtle ambient/noise attempts and unlike their debut, their extreme metal part are very boring for me. This record is really empty for me.
btw, I'm not good at reviewing but just want to give this a negative review as I have seen this topping many end of the year lists (including yours) and receiving raving reviews .

Pretty baffled by every one of those. It makes me think people don't know what the hell they're talking about

Yeah, for the little amount of 2013 records I've heard, this and recent deafheaven are getting a shitload of unjustified praise.
Just because Aevangelist makes an amalgamation of chaotic noise and extreme music neither makes them scary nor interesting.

I have seen this topping many end of the year lists (including yours) and receiving raving reviews

Pretty baffled by every one of those. It makes me think people don't know what the hell they're talking about

Even as a fan of this album, I'm a little confused by the amount of acclaim they are getting for this album. I've seen a handful of terrible reviews, but this album shouldn't be appealing to this many people (let alone topping a lot of year-end lists). I felt like I would be in the minority.

This album really surprised me, though I didn't quite know what to expect before pressing play. For me the real problem here is how clouded everything sounds, but once you listen to the album a few times I guess you can get used to it. Musically it's pretty full on as far as the extreme metal part of the musicianship is concerned, and the background noises such as screeching violins, tinkling keyboards or orgasmic (?) female moans and wails add extra effect. I only wish the production could be a bit clearer to truly emphasize these little sounds.

I think you've hit the nail on the head here. The cloudy, homogeneous nature of the album is a make-it-or-break-it aspect, and is a large deterrent for fans of the debut. It took me a number of listens to really get into some of the aspects of the album, and it actually really grew on me.

The production is definitely not the clearest one of 2013, and it's hard not to sympathize with your point there. That being said, the more I thought about the record... I think it was their intention to absolutely challenge the listener, in addition to making them feel like they are in the abysses of Hell. I'm not trying to redeem the production (I'd go so far as to say it's objectively terrible), but I found it worked well with their motives to keep everything murky. I do think that this production, however, compromises their horrifying effects that they obviously put a painstaking amount of time into. It's a shame because I see both sides of what they were trying to do, but I think most listeners are going to find they accomplished both in a merely adequate fashion.

Yeah, it's definitely one of the more challenging albums I've come across in 2013.

Goddamn I wish they'd released an album more like the debut :/ I really hope AEvangelist will still release good music in the future. Omniquity was astounding, so that gives me hope, but still...damn this album was disappointing

I can't make out anything. I don't mind working a little to "get" an album, but there's a difference between challenging and headache-triggering. It's too bad because I've been listening to this and Obiquity back to back since mz published his review, because I understand and love the whole concept. It's the kind of approach I would have expected from a Debemur Morti release, but I would have never imagined it sounding like that. It needs to be stripped out and cleaned.

I can't make out anything. I don't mind working a little to "get" an album, but there's a difference between challenging and headache-triggering. It's too bad because I've been listening to this and Obiquity back to back since mz published his review, because I understand and love the whole concept. It's the kind of approach I would have expected from a Debemur Morti release, but I would have never imagined it sounding like that. It needs to be stripped out and cleaned.

in any case, be sure to check their debut, which is much less mechanical and noisy.